Affiliate marketing is really a method of promotion whereby independent contractors, so to speak, are used to help publicize a product or service. Such work is done on a commission-only basis, so that payment is only made on a sale. These folks are traditionally known as “affiliates;” hence the name.

Affiliate marketing could be quite lucrative, and theoretically can generate residual income, money that is earned from work already done. Think of all those songs on the radio.

Did you know that each time one of them is played, the musicians involved are paid? They might have first composed and performed the piece years, even decades, ago, but nowadays they’re still being paid for it, each and every single time the song comes on the air (or is used in movies, et cetera).

That’s residual income, and that’s the true power of affiliate marketing. It’s a promise that animates tens of thousands of affiliate marketers each and every year, recruiting ever more affiliates – for the way to residual incomes lies in creating one’s own network of affiliates who “kick up” a percentage of their earnings to oneself.

Of course, the devil is in the details, as the old adage goes, and before signing up it is important to carefully educate oneself. Most programs require an initial purchase of some sort, and many others require that sales be on-going in order to continue receiving affiliate income. So let’s say that Charlie has built a network of subscribers to some kind of service or other.

Each time they renew, he receives his take, his cut. But some programs will stipulate that he only actually receives his “lifetime” commission on the condition that he continues to generate new clients! Otherwise, his earnings on his established clients are held for him, and not usually in some third-party escrow, either.

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